Multiple socket electrical connection device



l R. B. sQUlREs MULTIPLE SOCKET ELECTRICAL CONNECTION DEVICE Feb. 3, 1953 Filed April 14, 1950 25a I9 25e 25h Fig.|.

II I IIIIIJ-J.

IIIIIIILfv Insulation Fig.4.

WITNESSES:

igatenied Feb. El, 1352i MULTULE SOCKET AELECTRICAL CONNECTION DEVICE Rathbun B, Squires, Forest Hills, Pa., assigner to Westinghouse Electric Corporation, East Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application April 14, 1950, Serial No. 155,974

Claims. 1

This invention relates to electrical connection devices and it has particular invention to connection devices suitable for connecting and reconnecting la" numbers ol electrical circuit elements.

In accordance with the invention, a number oi receptacles are mounted on a panel. Each of the receptacles is designed for reception of an elece troconouctive plug. A U-shaped electroconducf tive spi g extends between each pair of receptacles i'or the purpose of electrically connecting pairs of plugs which are located in such receptacles. The end receptacle in a row may be addiw tionally provided with electroconductive springs for tbe purpose oi establishing further connections for plugs located in the end receptacles. If desired, a single receptacle also may be pro vided. for reception of the plugs.

It is, therefore, an object of tbe invention to provide a compact, improved connection device lor establishing connections for large numbers of circuit elements.

lt is a further object oi' the invention to provide a connection device W'nicn includes a pluralil or receptacles for electroconductive plugs who .n each pair of receptacles has a U-shaped eiectroconductive spring extending therebetween for tbe purpose of connecting plugs located in the receptacles.

@their objects ci tile invention will be apparent iroin tbe following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a view in plan with parts broken away and parts shown in section oi a connection device embodying the invention;

2 is a View in section. taken along the line lL-II of Figure i;

Fig. 3 is a view in plan of a inodiiied connection unit embodying the invention;

Fig. 4. is a schematic View showing connections established by a connection device embodying tbe in ntion; and

g. 5 is a schematic vic-w with parts in section snowing a further embodiment of the invention.

Reicrring to the drawing, Fig. l shows a panel P having a number of receptacles associated therewith. Although any desired number of receptacles may be employed, tbe invention may be described adequately by reference to four ren ceptacles i, 3, 5 and l' as illustrated in Fig. 1.

Each of the receptacles is designed for receiving an electroconductive plug 5. The plug Amay include an clectroconductive pin Se which has a rounded nose 8b and a peripheral groove 8c adjacent the nose. The pin 8a extends into an insulating sleeve 8d wherein it is electrically connected to one end of a conductor C. The condoctor C may have a similar plug at its remaining end., but in the preferred embodiment the remaining end is connected to a circuit cornponent as will be pointed. out more fully below.

The receptacles l, 3, 5 and 'i' include insulating bodies la, 3a, 5a and lo. Since these insulating bodies are similar in construction, it will sui'ce to .describe in detail the insulating body 3c for the receptacle 3.

The insulating body 3c is oi generally 'tubular construction and may be constructed of any suitable insulating material such as a phenolic resin. The insulating body is secured in any desired manner to tbe panel P. In tbe embodiment herein disclosed, tbe insulating body to has a flange il which enga-ges the front surface o tbe panel P (the lower surface in Fig. l). The remainder of the insulating body 3o projects through an opening in the panel Tand includes a threaded portion il which is in threaded engagement with a nut i3.. By manipulation of a nut i3, the panel P may be secured firmly between the nut and the iange S.

The insulating body has an opening i5 which extends in a direction transverse to the panel and which is proportioned 'for sliding reception of the pin sa of the plug 8. The insulating body also has passages Si and iii which extend in a direction transverse to the axis of the opening 55 through the Walls of the insulating body. Longitudinal grooves 2! and 23 are provided in the insulating body. The opening I5 may vary in shape provided it receives satisfactorily tbe plug 8. lt will be assumed that the opening i5 is of cylindrical coniigurations.

In order to establish electrical connections be tween plugs located in tbe receptacles, a plurality of U-sbeped electrcconductive springs 2o, 2l', and 2S are provided. It will be noted that one ci the U-shaped electroconductive springs is located between each pair of the receptacles. Since the Liv-shaped eloctroccnductive springs are all identical in construction, a description oi one of the springs 25 will suiiice.

The spring 25 may be constructed of any suit able electroconductive material such as resilient copper or phosphor bronze. The legs 25o and 25D oi the shaped spring are located respectively in tbe groove i3 of tbe receptacle l and tbe groove 2l oi the receptacle The Walls of tbe grooves constitute flanges which maintain the spring 25 substantially in a plane containing the axes o1" tbe openings provided in the receptacles.

Each end ci the spring 25 has associated therewith an electroconductive contact. member which projects into the opening of the associated receptacle. For example, the contact members 25C and 25d are secured respectively to the ends of the spring 25. These contact members may .be constructed of any suitable material such as silver buttons or silver-faced pins. The contact members 25o and 25d project respectively through the passage i9 of the receptacle and the passage Il of the receptacle 3 into the openings of the two receptacles.

The design of the spring 25 simplifies the construction of the connecting device and results in a compact and effective assembly. The U-shaped construction provides the equivalent of a long spring in a small space. As is apparent from the drawing, the spring 25 may be slipped into mounted position and removed therefrom by simply withdrawing the contact members 25e and 25d from' the associated passages and sliding the spring 25 through the grooves 2l and 23 of the associated receptacles. A reverse procedure is followed during assembly of the connecting device.

When a plug 3 is inserted in the receptacle 3, the springs 25 and 2 are connected to each other through the plug and also are connected to the plug. Consequently, as many plugs as desired may be placed in consecutive receptacles for the purpose of connecting the plugs to each other. If a plug is omitted from one of the receptacles the plugs on each side of the receptacle will be insulated -from each other. When the plug S is in mounted position the contact members 25e and 25d enter the groove 8a to retain the plug in mounted position and to establish contact therewith.

The end receptacles in a row have only one U-shaped spring associated therewith, whereas the intermediate receptacles have two U-shaped springs associated therewith. For some applications it may be desirable to provide a straight or leaf electroconductive spring 3| for each of the end receptacles. Such a spring may be secured to the end receptacle in any desired manner as by means of bolt 33. The spring 3i has a contact member Sla which projects through one of the passages of the receptacle to which the spring is secured. Consequently, upon insertion of the plug 8 in an end receptacle such as the receptacle l, the plug is electrically connected to both the spring 3l and the associated U-shaped electroconductive spring 25. The spring 3l may be connected through a suitable conductor Sib to any desired circuit component. A spring 3l also is illustrated for the receptacle l'.

The parts employed in fabricating the connection device of Fig. 1 also may be employed for a single receptacle. For example, in Fig. 3, a receptacle 35 is illustrated which is similar in construction to the receptacle I of Fig. 1. However, in Fig. 3, the U-shaped electroconductive spring 25 of Fig. l is replaced by a straight electroconductive spring 3| A which is similar in construction to the spring 3|. The springs 3! and SIA may be insulated from each other in any suitable way as by constructing the bolt 33 of insulating material or by employing insulating spacers between the bolt 33 and the springs. Under such circumstances, the insertion of the 1plug 8 in the receptacle 35 establishes a connection between springs 3| and 3|A. In some cases, it may be desirable to connect the springs 3| and 3 IA of Fig. 3 to each other as by employing an electroconductive bolt V33 which conductively engages both Vof the springs.

To facilitate alignment of each of the receptacles when it is mounted on the panel P, a small intervening receptacle which does not have positioning pin 3l may be formed on each of the insulating bodies for reception in a positioning recess provided in the panel P.

In order to illustrate more fully the iiexibility of the connection device herein described, reference is made to Fig. 4. Figure 4 shows a portion of the panel P which includes not only the receptacles l, 3, 5 and l', but in addition thereto, similar receptacles 39, t5, 43, 45, 41, 49, 5| and 53. It will be understood that the receptacles 39 to 55 and the receptacles 47 to 53, respectively, are constructed in the manner described for the receptacles l to 7.

Fig. 4 shows not only the flexible conductor C but additional conductors including the conductors CI, C3, C5 and C?. All of these `conductors are of similar construction. Each of the conductors has a plug 8 secured to one end thereof. In addition, the iiexible conductors may be connected to desired circuit components. For example, the ilexible conductors C and C5 are connected respectively to the terminals of a capacitor 55. As a further example, the conductors Cl and Cl are connected respectively to the terminals of a resistor 5l.

Inasmuch as the conductors C and CI have plugs inserted in the receptacles l and 3, it is clear `that these conductors are electrically connected through the U-shaped spring 25 (Fig. 1), which extends between the receptacles l and 3. For this reason, the resistor 5l has one terminal connected to a terminal of the capacitor 55.

The conductor Cl has a plug 8 inserted in the receptacle 3, and the conductor C5 has a plug S inserted in the receptacle Since the latter receptacle is spaced from the receptacle s by an a plug inserted therein, it is clear that the conductor C! is not connected to the conductor C5.

In Fig. 4, the conductor 3th is shown connected to ground. Consequently, any of the conductors which is electrically connected to the receptacle l is also connected to ground.

It is believed that the iexibility and compactness of a connection device involving the invention will be clear from the foregoing description. In some apparatus such as alternating current network calculators, several hundred receptacles and a large number of plug assemblies may be employed in a single cabinet. The invention results in exceptionally compact and neat assemblies of this type and insures low resistance connections between the desired circuit components.

In a modied form of the invention the contact members 25d, Zic, etc. of Fig. l are made long enough for pairs entering each receptacle body to engage each other if no plug is present. This modification is illustrated in Fig. 5. In 5 a panel PA is provided with a number of receptacles, two of which 3A and 5A are shown. Each of these receptacles has an insulating body which may be similar in construction to the body 3a of Fig. l.

U-shaped electroconduetive springs 25A, 27A and 29A are associated Vwith the receptacles of Fig. 5 in the same manner by `which the springs 25, 27 and 29 are associated with the receptacles of Fig. l. However each end of the springs oi Fig. 5 carries a contact member which is longer than the corresponding contact member of `Fig. l. 'Ihus one end of the spring 21A and one end of the spring 29A, respectively, have contact members 27D and 29C which are in engagement with each other when no plug is inserted in the receptacle 5A. If a plug having a pin similar in shape to the pin 8a, (Fig. 1) but constructed of insulating material is inserted into the receptacle 5A, the contact members 21D and 29C are separated. Such separation may be ernployed to interrupt a circuit which was previously completed by these springs.

The plug may be designed to connect two of the U-shaped springs independently to external circuits. In Fig. 5 such a plug 80 comprises two contact blades 80a, and 80h which are insulated from each other by a strip 80C of insulation. The blades 80a and 80h are secured to the strip 80e in any suitable manner as by adhesive or by molding the blades directly into plastic insulation.

To facilitate proper orientation, the plug 80 may have arectangular cross-section for sliding insertion in an opening I5A o rectangular crosssection provided in the receptacle 5A. The opening IEA of Fig. 5 corresponds to the opening l5 of Fig. 1.

The blades 80a and 8G11 may be connected to two flexible conductors 8l and 82. The connection is protected by an insulating sleeve 89d. The conductors El and 82 may be connected to circuit components -as desired. In the specic embodiment of Fig. 5, the conductors 8l and 82 are connected to the terminals of an ammeter AM for the purpose of measuring the current flowing between the springs 21A and 29A.

Although the invention has been described 'with reference to certain specic embodiments thereof, numerous modications are possible within the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a connection device, a U-shaped electroconductive spring, a structure having a pair oi spaced openings each defined in part by a Wall portion, each of said Wall portions being positioned adjacent a separate end of the spring, and each of the wall portions having -a passage extending therethrough adjacent the associated spring end, said wall portions being insulated from each other, a separate contact element secured to each of said spring ends, each of said contact elements extending through the adjacent passage and projecting into the associated opening, whereby a conductor element may be moved into each of the openings to engage the associated contact element, said U-shaped electroconductive spring being proportioned to maintain the contact elements in their associated passages, whereby the contact elements serve to maintain the spring in operative position.

2. In a connection device for receiving electrical plugs, rst and second spaced insulating receptacles each having an opening for reception of an electrical plug, a supporting structure for supporting the receptacles, with the openings substantially parallel, a i'lrst U-shaped electroconductive spring extending between said receptacles and having a separate leg adjacent each of the receptacles, each of said receptacles having an aperture extending from the associated opening to a position adjacent the associated leg of the spring, each of said legs having a contact end projecting therefrom through the adjacent one of said apertures and projecting into the adjacent one of the openings, said spring biasing said contact ends into said openings.

3. In a connection device for receiving electrical plugs, first and second spaced insulating receptacles each having an opening for reception of an electrical plug, a supporting structure for supporting the receptacles, with the openings substantially parallel, a rst U-shaped electroconductive spring extending between said receptacles and having a separate leg adjacent each of the receptacles, each of said receptacles having an aperture extending from the associated opening to a position adjacent the associated leg of the spring, each of said legs having a contact end projecting therefrom through the adjacent one of said apertures and projecting into the adjacent one of the openings, said spring biasing said contact ends into said openings, the spacing of said legs being sufficient to permit Withdrawal o the contact ends from the apertures against the spring bias to permit removal of the spring from the receptacles.

4. In a connection device for receiving electrical plugs, first and second spaced insulating receptacles each having an opening for reception of an electrical plug, a supporting structure for supporting the receptacles, with the openings substantially parallel, a first U-shaped electroconductive spring extending between said receptacles and having a separate leg adjacent each o1 the receptacles, each of said receptacles having an aperture extending from the associated opening to a position adjacent the associated leg of the spring, each of sai-d legs having a contact end projecting therefrom through the adjacent one of said apertures and projecting into the adjacent one of the openings, said spring biasing said contact ends into said openings, each of said receptacles having a channel for reception of the adjacent leg of the spring.

5. In a connection device for receiving electrical plugs, first and second spaced insulating receptacles each having an opening for reception of an electrical plug, a supporting structure for supporting the receptacles, with the openings substantially parallel, a rst U-shaped electroconductive spring extending between said receptacles and having a separate leg adjacent each of the receptacles, each of said receptacles having an aperture extending from the associated opening to a position adjacent the associated leg of the spring, each of said legs having a contact end projecting therefrom through the adjacent one of said apertures and projecting into the adjacent one of the openings, said spring biasing said contact ends into said openings, in combination with a third receptacle similar in construction to said first and second receptacles and supported in spaced relationship relative to the rst and second receptacles by the supporting structure, and a second U-shaped spring having contact ends similar to the rst U-shaped spring and contact ends, said second U-shaped spring being associated with the second and third receptacles in the same manner by which the rst UJ-shaped spring is associated with the rst and second receptacles.

RATHBUN B. SQUIRES.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 732,012 Skirrow June 23, 1903 862,072 Hammond July 30, 1907 963,480 Skirrow July 5, 1910 1,547,884 Lindberg July 28, 1925 1,584,821 Pacent May 11, 1926 1,786,598 Broer Dec. 30, 1930 2,276,130 Whitehead Mar. 10, 1942 

